Weather radio, weather band radio, weather alert radio, NOAA Weather Radio, Public Alert radio, and emergency radio—what’s the difference?
Your customers may think all those terms are synonymous and have all the same features. But they aren’t—and they don’t. So, let’s dive into the world of the weather radio.
We’ll also provide answers to common customer questions so you can clear up those sometimes-murky differences. When it comes to emergency preparedness, those differences could be lifesaving.
What is NOAA Weather Radio (NWR)? How does it work?
According to NOAA’s National Weather Service, its NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards broadcasting stations provide “continuous weather information directly from the nearest National Weather Service office. NWR broadcasts official Weather Service warnings, watches, forecasts and other hazard information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”
This means what a listener hears will vary depending on which part of the country they’re in. For example, people who live inland won’t hear marine information. “All Hazards” means that warnings and information about natural disasters, environmental spills, and public safety messages from local, state, federal emergency managers, and authorized public officials are also broadcast—just not weather-related alerts.
Computer-generated voice messages repeat every 4 to 6 minutes with updates every few hours. When there’s a rapidly changing situation, the message changes frequently to reflect the latest developments. Finally, on very rare occasion, a live human voice takes over.
Is NOAA Weather Radio AM or FM?
Each NWR station broadcasts on one of seven special frequencies in the VHF public service band. This means regular AM/FM radios can’t pick up their broadcasts. However, more specialized radios, such as weather alert radios and weather band radios, along with certain scanners, CB radios, and 2-way radios equipped with weather band technology, can.
The transmission distance of an NWR station averages about 40 miles. But terrain and structures impact range. If your customers live in urban areas or the mountains, they may need to purchase an extra antenna to improve reception. Many weather radios have a built-in jack to accept an add-on. NOAA recommends a TV antenna designed for analog (not digital) VHF TV stations or for FM radio. Analog is key takeaway. Many of today’s VHF stations now actually broadcast in the UHF range, thanks to the digital changeover that allows High-Definition broadcasts.
In total, NOAA has about 1,000 transmitters deployed across the U.S., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. At least 95% of the population can receive a broadcast. Using the links in the captions below will take you to NOAA’s latest files. The online transmitter document is actually zoomable down to the city level.
Latest Map of all NOAA transmitter locations
What is the emergency weather radio frequency?
The seven frequencies used by the NWR are:
- 162.400 MHz
- 162.425 MHz
- 162.450 MHz
- 162.475 MHz
- 162.500 MHz
- 162.525 MHz
- 162.550 MHz
NOAA cautions that older weather radios only receive three frequencies—162.400, 162.475 and 162.550. However, any receiver purchased today can pick up all seven.
For those who travel to Canada, the National Weather Service says, “Canada has a Weatheradio network which broadcasts on the same frequencies that our U.S. Weather Radio stations do. The Canadian system uses concatenated English and French voices (where words and phrases spoken by an actual person are spliced together). For a listing of Canadian Weatheradio stations and broadcast frequencies, go to: https://www.msc.ec.gc.ca/msb/weatheradio/.”
What is S.A.M.E.?
S.A.M.E. (sometimes written as SAME) means Specific Area Message Encoding. NOAA Weather Radio transmitters generally cover several counties. S.A.M.E.-equipped receivers only respond to the county in which the radio receiver is located. This helps reduce alerts that aren’t relevant. Your customers must program S.A.M.E.-compatible receivers with the special 6-digit S.A.M.E. code in order to activate this feature.
The National Weather Service maintains charts of county coverage by state as well as marine listings that include S.A.M.E. codes, so it’s easy to look up the desired code. S.A.M.E. radios come with programming instructions.
What’s the difference between a weather radio, weather band radio, and a weather alert radio?
Weather radio is a generic term for all radios designed to receive NOAA weather band broadcasts. It is not a technical term, per se, but a category name. Walkie talkies, headphones, CB radios, and scanners that can pick up weather bands are often included in this over-arching category. Please read their materials carefully to see if they are weather band or weather alert.
A weather band radio passively receives all seven NOAA weather band frequencies.
A weather alert radio takes reception a significant step further. Once it receives the special 1050 Hz tone alarm that a NOAA station transmits when there’s an alert, it automatically switches to that station’s frequency. Even if the radio is off, the alert triggers it to turn on, so listeners can be informed. This is especially crucial if an emergency happens at night. A weather alert radio must have power of some kind for it to work as intended. Weather alert radios may or may not come with S.A.M.E.
What is a Public Alert branded radio?
Public Alert radios meet standards developed by the Consumer Technology Association in conjunction with the National Weather Service. CTA set out specific ANSI parameters that Public Alert branded radios must meet. As CTA explains, the code “describes the events these radios should recognize, how users should be able to program them, what sort of indications the radios should give when an alert is received, the quality of the audio they should produce, and other things.”
Typically, Public Alert radios have the following features:
- They are weather alert, so the NWR tone alarm activation automatically turns it on and switches over to the proper weather band frequency
- Battery backup compartment in case of emergency
- S.A.M.E. technology
They may also have:
- Selectable alerting of events (for example, you live inland in a county with an ocean border, but you’re not interested in coastal flood warnings)
- External jack for special needs such as bed shakers and strobe lights (this is optional for consumer receivers but required for those used in institutions)
- External antenna jack to boost reception
More features may be added down the line.
NOAA itself does not make radios. But radios that carry the NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards logo have been tested by them.
Aren’t weather radios obsolete thanks to alerts sent to phones?
Actually, no. Cell phones run out of power. Your customers can also turn them off. And in areas where cell service is weak or nonexistent, cell phones won’t receive much of anything, including alerts. Many weather radios have at least battery backup power so they can run off the grid.
By the way, the alerts sent to phones are called Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA). The Wireless Emergency Alert system is a partnership between a number of authorized governmental entities including FEMA, Homeland Security, and the National Weather Service.
There are three kinds of WEAs:
- Presidential alerts—only to be used during a national emergency
- Imminent Threat alerts—issued during severe man-made or natural disasters where there’s an imminent threat to property or life
- AMBER, BLUE, or SILVER alerts—issued by law enforcement
Alerts are regionalized so only area cell phones will receive those alerts.
When cell tower traffic is congested or overwhelmed, the WEA system is not affected. It is possible to opt out of all alerts except Presidential. Users can find out more information through their wireless carrier here or here.
What is an emergency radio?
Emergency radios add more features. At the very minimum, the ideal, portable emergency radio should have:
- Weather-alert capabilities so it receives the alarm tone and turns on automatically
- S.A.M.E. for the ability to filter out messages not pertaining to the particular county in which the radio is located
- AM/FM radio stations. Local emergency broadcasting system messages are on the AM band. To find out a local station’s call numbers, search Google by typing the “city name” Emergency Radio. If other stations are still on the air, they can keep listeners with other valuable information.
- An extendable antenna
- One or more alternate ways to power it—this can include solar, batteries, hand crank, and USB (where a power bank or computer’s battery provides the juice)
Other things to look for include:
- External antenna jack
- Built-in flashlight
- One or more USB ports for recharging smart devices
- Durability so it can take some wear and tear
- Handle for easy portability
- LED lights that flash to alert hearing impaired or those who are busy doing other tasks
- Alert display
- Shortwave and HAM radio bands; perhaps even Air Band (Aviation)
And, as recommended by NOAA and the National Weather Service, a weather radio (emergency or not) should preferably bear either the NOAA All Hazards logo, the Public Alert logo, or both.
Emergency preparedness should include a weather radio
No part of the U.S.A. is immune from some sort of emergency. Thanks to the All Hazards nature of NWR broadcasts, weather radios, and in particular, weather alert radios, are a must.
Be sure to check out the wide assortment of wholesale emergency radios and weather radios that Petra carries. And use the knowledge we’ve provided in this blog to equip each of your customers with the lifesaving, emergency radio that works best for them.